KATHMANDU, Oct 9: All services related to driving licenses, including issuance, online applications, fee collection, and written and practical exams, have been suspended for the past month following the Gen Z movement. This has affected applicants who need licenses for work or those preparing for foreign employment.
According to the Department of Transport Management, after the Gen Z protests, all license-related work—including printing, accepting online applications, collecting revenue, and conducting written and practical exams—has been halted. Applicants who passed their practical and written exams before September 7 but could not pay the required fees have also been unable to complete the process. As a result, even those who passed the practical test have not received official recognition.
With all license services suspended, applicants preparing to travel abroad for work have been unable to obtain their license cards. Director of the Department of Transport Management, Narhari Tiwari, stated that license cards ready for printing and the license printing machines were damaged during the Gen Z protests, leading to the suspension of printing.
Driving license service on Nagarik App suspended
He added that the department’s servers and systems were also disrupted. Efforts are underway to resume license services. “We are working to restart services within 10–15 days,” Tiwari said.
Previously, around 2,500–3,000 online applications for new licenses were received daily from 43 transport offices across the country. This process is now halted. Currently, about 2 million applicants are waiting for their license cards, but there is no clear timeline for issuance.
The department has never been able to provide license cards on time, and in some cases, applicants have waited 5–6 years after passing the driving test to receive their license.
New trial centers planned
The Transport Management Office in Banepa issued a 15-day notice to open a new trial center to allow driving schools to conduct practical tests. However, after widespread protests from various driving school associations—claiming the notice favored certain schools—the Bagmati Province Government and the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Transport decided to revise it.
Ministry Secretary Birendra Bharti stated that a corrected notice will be issued on Friday. “We issued a notice six months ago, but it was canceled due to a lack of applications.
This time, we reissued it,” he said. “The previous notice was about to expire the day before the Phulpati festival of Dashain. We will revise it and issue a new notice on Friday.”
Representatives of multiple driving school associations—including Rupesh Kafle (Vice President, Driving School of Nepal, Kavre), Bishnuraj Khadka (President, Driving School Association, Lalitpur), Rambhai Baniya (President, Driving School Association, Bhaktapur), and Ramesh Khatri (President, Driving School Association, Kathmandu)—issued a joint statement demanding the immediate cancellation of the notice. They argued that it favored one trial center, bypassing other operational and qualified driving schools, and warned that the Bagmati Province Government would be responsible for any consequences if the notice is not withdrawn.
